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Lê Duy Khiêm was the eldest son of Lê Duy Vĩ who was the first crown prince of king Lê Hiển Tông.[1] After Khiêm's father was killed by the ninth Trinh lord Trinh Sam in 1771, he was jailed.[1] In 1783, lord Trinh Khai deposed crown prince Lê Duy Cận and made Lê Duy Khiêm crown prince of Le Dynasty.[1]

In 1786, the Tay Son general Nguyễn Huệ led his force to northern Vietnam and destroyed the house of the Trinh Lords.[2] The next year, 1787, the Le king Lê Hiển Tông died of natural causes, and Nguyen Hue installed Lê Duy Khiêm on the throne as king Lê Chiêu Thống and then he withdrew almost all his troops to Phu Xuan.[1][2] Trinh lords members took advantage of Nguyen Hue's absence. Two Trinh heirs, Trịnh Bồng and Trịnh Lệ, appeared and made their claims to the lord throne. King Lê Chiêu Thống appointed Trinh Bong as the next Trịnh lord which triggered Trịnh Lệ to revolt.[3] After suppressing Trịnh Lệ forces, Trịnh Bồng became the most powerful man in north Vietnam but his leadership was bad.[3] The entirety of north Vietnam sank into chaos, thus forcing King Lê Chiêu Thống to ask for assistance from Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh, Tay Son governor of Nghe An.[3] Nguyen Huu Chinh led an army marched north, easily defeated Trinh army, forced Trinh Bong to flee and captured Thang Long.[3] After pacifying the region, Nguyen Huu Chinh abused power for his own interests, thus impinging Nguyen Hue's political status.[2][4][5]

After learning about actions of Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh, Nguyen Hue sent north a general named Vũ Văn Nhậm with an army to attack Thang Long (now Hanoi).[2] Vu Van Nham swiftly defeated and killed Nguyen Huu Chinh and occupied Thang Long, but then he took the power himself. Nguyen Hue sent two other generals to suppress Vu Van Nham and recaptured Thang Long.[2] Meanwhile, Le Chieu Thong fled to the furthest north of Vietnam and refused Nguyen Hue's invitations to return.[2] He gathered a small army of Lê Dynasty loyalists and sent his family to China to ask for the aid of Emperor Qianlong of China.[2][6] Emperor Qianlong agreed and sent north Vietnam a massive army. Under the banner of the Le king, the large Qing army easily drove Tay Son out of north Vietnam and took over Thang Long.[3] After occupation of northern Vietnam, Qing marshal Soun Che-y[a] reinstalled Lê Chiêu Thống as a puppet ruler.[6] Although Le Chieu Thong did not have much ruling power, he began taking a bloody revenge on Tay Son supporters and forced people to supply him food in spite of war and famine.[3]

The actions of Lê Chiêu Thống and the invasion of Qing gave Nguyen Hue a good chance to officially take the throne and gain popularity among northern Vietnamese people. On 22 December 1788, Nguyen Hue proclaimed himself emperor Quang Trung and formally declared that the Lê Dynasty had ended. He then led an army march north.[6] Although the Tay Son army was smaller, they defeated the unprepared Qing troops in a series of battles during the 1789 Lunar New Year celebration and forced the rest of Qing army to flee in confusion.[7][8] Le Chieu Thong fled to China which marked the end of Le Dynasty.[7]

After the war, Nguyen Hue sent a request of recognition to China and it was accepted with conditions.[9] The Qing dynasty recognized Nguyen Hue as a new ruler of Vietnam and gave him the traditional title "An Nam Quốc Vương" (King of Pacified South).[9] From this point on, Le Chieu Thong could not manage to have aid from Qing Dynasty of China any more.[10] He spent the rest of his life in China, and died in 1793.[10]

In 1802, when envoys of Nguyen dynasty came to China, Lê Dynasty loyalists requested Emperor Jiaqing to let them bring Lê Chiêu Thống's remains back to Vietnam and the Emperor agreed.[10] Emperor Jiaqing also freed all followers of Lê Chiêu Thống who were imprisoned in China.[10]

Le Chieu Thong's remains are buried in Bàn Thạch village, Thanh Hoa, Vietnam.[10] He was posthumously given the title Mẫn Đế (愍帝).